The Forest Queen
by PirateAngel1286
Summary: Post AWE and AU Jack, Will and Elizabeth find themselves in an epic quest to discover what is kidnapping girls in the dark of night. WE and JA Complete
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Okay so I was watching The Brothers Grimm yesterday and was of course inspired. Happy Birthday Orlando. This is the second time I'm posting the first chapter of something on his birthday.

The story is post-AWE with a twist which I'll explain in the next chapter. Enjoy the first though.

* * *

A young girl of about 13 years of age ran out of the forest as fast as she could. It was very late at night and the moon hung overhead like a glowing omen for what was to come.

"Mum!" the girl shouted as she looked back once more. Unfortunately she tripped and fell over a fallen log and collapsed onto the hard ground. That's when she heard it.

_Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump._

If only she could get back to her house before it caught up with her.

_Thump. _

Must.

_Thump._

Get.

_Thump._

Home.

All she could hear was the beating now. But was it her own heart…or someone else's? Something grabbed her by the shoulders and she opened her mouth to scream but the thing placed their hand over her mouth and dragged her away. Deeper and deeper into the forest until they would be seen and heard no more.

**

* * *

**"Jack, come over here and help us alright." 

The younger man's voice traveled throughout the small ship to the other man dozing to the side with a bottle of rum in one hand and his other arm against the wall.

"No," he said shortly

"Come on Jack, we need your help," the female Captain said. She rolled her eyes to her husband who smirked.

"You two can do it without me savvy," Jack said turning.

This caused the young man to smirk wider. "Captain Turner, I believe you need to teach this man just who is boss here," he said with a wink.

Elizabeth Turner, Captain of the Empress, Pirate Lord of Singapore and Pirate King smiled at her husband. "Hold this," she said handing her husband a bucket of cold sea water. She then pulled him to his feet and pointed to the drunken man.

"Mr. Turner, if you will."

The man, whose name was also Will, grinned. "Gladly," he said pouring the contents onto Jack.

They both laughed long and hard as the man began to sputter the sea water.

"I was already awake you know," he said.

"That was for the smell," Will said patting him on the shoulder.

"Now will you please help us Jack. You are the one who said this place was worth going to," Elizabeth said handing the man his compass.

Jack glared at the two of them as he flipped it open. They both watched over his shoulder as it spun three times before stopping at Will. Elizabeth and Jack both quirked an eyebrow at this as Will began to get all nervous and stepped out of the way. The direction of the arrow stayed true.

"And to think you used to be Captain of the Flying Dutchman not long ago. I believe it is pointing beyond you and not at you. We must go east Captain Turner," Jack said closing the thing and giving her his trademark smirk.

"Thank you Jack," she said getting up and walking over to the wheel.

"That's Captain Jack, love," Jack said standing.

Exaggeratedly, she pretended to look all over. "Well I don't happen to see your ship _Captain_. I am in charge of this vessel and you are only here because we found you adrift at sea."

"Without your ship," Will added trying to adjust the sail.

"And in a dingy. Not even the Pearl but a dingy," Elizabeth said.

"I'll get it back," Jack said defensively.

"Of course you will. It'll just take a little time that's all," Will said finishing what he was doing.

Jack flipped the compass open again and still it pointed in the same direction. While he was busy doing that, Will walked up behind Elizabeth and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"How're you holding up with Jack around?" he whispered huskily into her ear.

"Not well I'm afraid," she whispered back.

Will began to nibble on her ear as Elizabeth took hold of both his arms...

"Can't you two save the lovey dovey stuff till later?"

Groaning Will put his arms down and into his coat pocket while Elizabeth just looked generally annoyed. The rest of the trip seemed to go by very quickly, a fact which Will and Elizabeth were very happy about.

"Okay Jack, I'll let you bring us into the harbor," Elizabeth said.

She stepped away from the wheel and Jack moved forward to help. Will just stood idly to the side and watched as the island came closer. It seemed like many people were out and about as it was the early morning. What was it that some of them were holding? Will moved away to try and get a closer look. Where those muskets?

"Duck!" Will said running over and pushing Elizabeth to the ground.

Jack turned to see what the problem was and likewise moved out of the way.

"I thought you said this was a nice island," Elizabeth said to Jack with heavy sarcasm.

"I thought so too love," he said confused.

As they continued to hide, they didn't realize until it was too late that they were still moving. The ship ran into the dock and immediately the people with the guns came onboard. The muskets and pistols were pointed in their faces and they were unfortunately surrounded.

Both Will and Elizabeth looked to Jack. He smiled a little at them and then at their captors. "Parlay?"

"What is your business here?" a man with his pistol pointed at Will's head asked.

"Our friend wanted to visit," Elizabeth answered looking to Jack in the process.

Now everyone pointed their guns at Jack. "I'm looking for my good friend named AnaMaria. Have you seen her by chance?"

Will and Elizabeth looked at each other a little confused. He hadn't mentioned that to them.

"Up," the same man said.

Jack got to his feet and motioned for Will and Elizabeth to do the same. They did, but it wasn't without the tiniest amount of fear.

"How do we keep getting into these situations with him?" Elizabeth asked.

"Luck?" Will said unsure.

"Yeah, bad luck," she said.

Will would've tried to defend him, but he agreed so he only nodded. "After you."

* * *

Next chapter will be an introduction to Ana, why Will is here instead of being Captain and more intrigue as another girl goes missing. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Thank you to those who read chapter one. Here is chapter two.

* * *

Having the end of a musket against your back wasn't exactly the best feeling in the world. Especially when you are 1) innocent of any foul play and 2) in the company of Captain Jack Sparrow. But there wasn't anything that could be done about it. At least, at the moment. But Will Turner didn't really have any right to argue.

To the island they walked and Elizabeth, clearly irritated, looked to the man poking her in the back before Will took her hand into his to calm her down. Jack was at the front of the line with the leader.

He was older, maybe in his late 50's, early 60's. His face was weathered and gray, his clothes a bit tattered but his eyes told a true testament of the man. He was a fighter, this one.

They stopped in front of a shack and the man walked forward and knocked. A younger woman answered, one that they all recognized.

"Father," AnaMaria said at the same time Jack called out her name.

"Father?" Elizabeth repeated perplexed.

"Sparrow, Turner and Swann? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"It's Turner now as well actually," Elizabeth said looking to Will pointedly. Will, for his part, grinned and nodded putting his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him.

"Well I see you two are doing well. And Jack..."

"Yes love," he said attempting to move closer to her. Ana's father made sure his gun was within Jack's sight.

"Why don't you lot come inside and we can have a little chat. Father, I think I can handle this myself right now. Alright?"

The man looked at the group and nodded. "If ye need anythin' just holler. We'll just be out looking for Maddie then."

The man led the group away leaving the four standing and watching them go. Jack turned back to face Ana just in time to have his face slapped.

"Why don't we all sit down, eh?" she said stepping aside. Elizabeth gave Jack a weary look while Will just patted him on the shoulder. Jack was in the room last and as he rubbed his face, took in his surroundings; that being Ana's house.

It had only one room which was a sitting room/bedroom with a fireplace that was lit and had a kettle on it for tea.

"I darest say you'll be having a bit of rum with yours; aye Jack?" Ana said gently removing the now steaming kettle.

"Aye Ana, you know me too well," he said finally taking a seat.

She poured each of them a cup before any of them said another word.

"So how are you AnaMaria?" Elizabeth asked taking a sip.

"Fine, just fine. And you lot; you wouldn't believe some of the stories that 'ave been passing through here about you especially Jack."

"Do tell love?" Jack asked pouring about as much rum as he wanted into his own glass before forgoing the cup and just drinking it straight from the bottle. Will snatched it away from him and then proceeded to drink his own tea.

"Only that somehow you got involved in that Davy Jones/East India Company battle at sea," she said sending a slightly worried glance in Jack's direction.

"Oh, well then if you put it that way," Jack said completely missing her look, "then yes. Right in the thick of things we were."

"Oh," Ana said letting her anger get the better of her, "always getting into trouble Sparrow. And what about you two eh, last I heard you two were wanted pirates yourselves. I suppose you've got Sparrow to thank for that."

"Well, technically, yes," Will said before Elizabeth smacked him in the arm. Jack looked lightly over to them as Will cleared his throat. "Yes, but if it wasn't for Jack then we would probably all be unhappy, or dead."

"Well now William, we've both got the dead part down already; don't we," Jack said patting him on the knee.

"What?" Ana asked.

"Octopus, Jones," Jack said pointing to himself and Will respectively.

"I don't get it."

"Well, the Kraken was after Jack," Elizabeth said. "You know, Davy Jones' leviathan. Well we were battling it when Jack off and runs away." "No," Ana said sending the man a glare. "Yes, but he did end up coming back. He...elected..."

Will put his hand over Jack's mouth before he could say anything and tried to look nonchalant about it.

"To stay behind and let us go in his stead. And the Kraken ate him. We ended up finding Jack in the locker."

"My goodness," Ana said felling a bit more upset than before. She laid a hand on Jack's lap and he took it and kissed it to let her know everything was...sort of alright now. Now she turned her attention to Will and he looked to Elizabeth.

"Oh no, you have to explain this one."

Now he sighed and leaned forward. "We were in the middle of an enormous maelstrom. Elizabeth and I had just gotten married and I saw that Jack was in need of help. I swung over to the Dutchman but was blocked by my Father. We had a little standoff and in that time Elizabeth came and tried to do battle against Jones. Well it didn't go quite according to plan because he knocked her out and then I tried to stab him."

"Isn't he immortal though," Ana said with a raised eyebrow.

"Aye, I sort of forgot that little detail at the moment. Jack managed to get a hold of his heart though and would've stabbed the beating thing but Jones had to go and stab me instead. Let me tell you: death is not an altogether pleasant experience. Everything was fading in and out: voices, sounds, people, and colors. I had no idea what was going on anymore. Except that I felt pain and a lot of it all at once. I kept, I kept trying to tell Elizabeth that I loved her but it just wouldn't come out," he said taking hold of her hand now as tears streamed down her face remembering how she almost lost him.

Jack looked stricken himself as he tried not to let the others see him dry his own tears.

"Then what happened?" Ana asked in a steady voice.

Will chuckled. "I know you're not going to believe this Ana but Jack actually did something noble that day. Instead of stabbing the heart himself thusly becoming immortal, he let me stab it so I could not die."

"No," she said bringing her hands to her mouth. "Then why aren't you on the Dutchman?"

"That was all a part of the lad's destiny," Jack said leaning back.

"I released the Dutchman from its cursed Captain like I was always supposed to. Yet I wasn't to be its Captain."

"So now wait, I thought that you had to be Captain once you stabbed the heart."

"That was what Jones wanted everyone to think. But it took someone with a 'Touch of Destiny' to right all his wrongs."

"So who is the Captain then?"

"Ever hear of James Norrington?" Elizabeth asked.

The group spent all afternoon talking and getting all caught up.

"So I see you went back with your parents then?" Jack asked.

"No Jack; this is my home for myself. I was actually trying to join up with a ship but none seem to be passing through. Then there's what's going on outside that makes me want to do something."

"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked.

Ana sighed and looked at all of them. "For the last few nights, young girls have gone missing and no one knows what in the world is going on. Everyone says they're in the Queen's Forest but I for one don't think..."

"Wait, Queen's Forest?" Will said looking around at the others. Jack and Elizabeth hadn't heard of it either.

"You mean you've never heard the tale of The Forest Queen?"

"Can't say we have love," Jack said.

Ana looked each of them in the eye before checking outside her window. "The legend goes that every one hundred or so years the Queen chooses a servant who is to bring her only the most beautiful girls in the village. Then they are sacrificed and their beauty becomes her own after which time none of the girls are ever heard from again."

"That's terrible," Elizabeth said aghast.

"Aye and its happening again which has everyone whispering."

"Will, maybe we should all spend the night here," Elizabeth said. Sure enough, the sun was beginning to set.

"I think that'll be alright. Right Jack?"

"Aye, I don't mind."

**

* * *

**Little Brittany knew that she wasn't supposed to go outside this late at night but she'd also forgotten her dolly earlier and when she woke up without it, she knew exactly where it was. 

She silently opened the door and sure enough, dolly was sitting on a tree stump waiting for her. Brittany grabbed the doll and turned back to the house when she heard something from behind her.

_Thump Thump. Thump Thump._

Brittany made to run for it but something grabbed her from behind. She was about to scream when the person or thing put their hand over her mouth.

"Come dear child. Someone wishes to see you," the whispered roughly.

Kicking all the while, Brittany was dragged into the forest leaving her doll behind.

* * *

Next chapter will have dreams and out and about in the town. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I really appreciate it. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

I had a little free time recently and worked really hard on this chapter. Thanks for reviewing so far guys, I really appreciate it. Here's the latest chapter. Enjoy.

_

* * *

_

_She took his hand into hers before placing it upon his chest._

_"You are mine now," the woman whispered into his ear in a very sensual voice. _

_He looked into her cold brown eyes but felt a strange warmth enter his body. "I love you," he whispered. _

_The woman smirked. "I know."_

Will turned over in his sleep and slowly opened his eyes to see a wall in front of him.

Where was he again?

The sound of a man snoring caused him to sit up in bed and see Jack Sparrow lying on the floor with a blanket around his middle. In a chair by the window sat Ana Maria, fast asleep as well. Elizabeth, who was at his side, shifted and cracked her eyes open the tiniest bit.

"What's wrong?" she asked tiredly.

Will was about to answer when a loud scream from outside caused everyone to look to the window. Ana and Jack quickly ran outside as they were the closest while Will and Elizabeth looked at each other.

Ana was the first to reach the crowd of people. "What's happening?" she asked.

Jack arrived a few seconds after her and tried to catch his breath.

"We woke up this morning to find our daughter not in her bed. Then we came out here to call for her when we found her poppet just outside the entrance...to the forest," a man said.

"You're not suggesting...?" a townsperson said.

"Aye; tis the Forest Queen. I'm sure of it."

"They've taken our little girl," his wife said crying on her husband's shoulder.

Whispers broke out and everyone was looking nervously to the trees. Nobody spoke for almost ten minutes.

"And why can't you lot just go and find her?" Jack asked.

The entire group turned their heads to stare at him.

"What?" he asked as Will and Elizabeth finally arrived at the scene.

"What's happened?" Elizabeth asked.

At the site of a crying woman in the arms of her husband, they quickly understood the seriousness of the situation.

"What you people don't seem to realize yet is that the child is more than likely just beyond you right in there," Jack said pointing to the trees.

"Jack, weren't you listening to a word Ana was saying last night. They can't go in there because of some specter," Will said bringing him back to the reality of the situation.

"Turner," Jack said laying two fingers on the man, "it's a forest. Not a bloody animal. And trees don't attack people, savvy."

That was a bit true. Who'd ever heard of something as ridiculous as a tree fighting back?

"Be that as it may," Elizabeth said, "this situation is not entirely out of our hands. Maybe we should stay for a little while to assist them."

Will and Jack looked to each other.

"Are you sure Elizabeth?" Will asked.

"They could really use our help. Plus, well, we haven't really been off the sea since the battle. It would be nice to stay on dry land for a little while."

Will's resolve began to crumble. He nodded causing Jack to roll his eyes which was immediately seen by Ana. She smacked him along the back of the head causing everyone to look at him.

"Fine, we'll stick around but only until this situation is taken care of, savvy."

"What would you like us to do?" Will asked the people of the community.

"We would like you lot to leave thank you very much," Ana's father said.

"Father," she said back angrily.

"Well if you lot don't want us then there's no reason to stay..." Jack started to say before Will stomped on his foot.

"But we want to help sir. Please let us," Elizabeth said pleading with the man.

"Let them stay Father," Ana said through clenched teeth.

"Fine. Fine, they can stay but only until this whole mess is dealt with."

"Thank you," Elizabeth said.

She took Ana by the arm and led her away. Will pulled Jack and followed after them.

"I didn't think your father was such a tough guy," Jack said once they were out of range.

"And just where did you think I got it from, my Grandmother?" Ana asked turning to face him and placing her hands on her hips.

Will quickly went away from her side and stood by Elizabeth. She took his hand into hers and Will kissed it.

"Why don't we go back to Ana's and make a little something to eat? Something tells me they're going to be awhile," he whispered.

"Alright, should we tell them?"

"Nah, they should realize it after awhile. Maybe."

Judging by the looks on both of their faces, a shouting match would likely start soon anyway. Will looked over Elizabeth's shoulder and could've sworn he saw some sort of shadow within the trees.

"_William_," the wind whispered.

He closed his eyes and felt a strange peace enter his soul.

"Will? Aren't you coming?"

He opened them to see Elizabeth a few paces ahead of him looking at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"Come on."

Will took one last look at the forest before walking with his wife back to Ana's home.

**

* * *

**Jack and Ana returned to the cottage a few minutes later (Jack with a blatant red mark on his left cheek) 

"You didn't have to make breakfast," Ana said sitting at the table.

"It was the least we could do. After all, you're letting us stay here," Elizabeth said passing her a plate.

They all sat down and ate a nice meal in moderate silence.

"Ana, could you answer a question for me," Will asked taking his tea cup and holding it carefully.

"Aye?"

"This Forest Queen; what's she supposed to look like?"

Ana thought about it for a few seconds before folding her hands and leaning closer to him. "There aren't many known sightings of those living but from what I've heard tell of in her youth she is said to have been the most beautiful woman to ever grace the Earth. Her name was Quintessa and she lived hundreds of years ago in the times of royalty. Legend goes that she wanted to find a way of living forever, never aging and trying to find her soul mate."

"What happened then to make her all, you know, wonky?" Jack asked.

"She was to be married to her beloved when he was brutally taken from her. See, they wanted to find this immortality together but once he was gone she continued the search alone. Some even say she had abilities."

"And what sort of abilities might she have had?" he asked.

Ana looked out the window to make sure no one was listening. "Some say she was a witch," she whispered.

"What?" Will asked because he hadn't heard her as he was sitting the furthest from her.

"A witch," Jack said again causing Ana to hit him on the arm.

"Not so loud," Ana said quietly.

"So Quintessa was a witch and a queen," Elizabeth said hoping to hear more of the story.

"Aye."

"But then what's the purpose of the servant she supposedly chooses?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, the servant is supposed to assist her in her hunt as well as embody the traits of her beloved. Whomever she so chooses is to be hers against their free will."

"And by that Love, you mean..."

"I mean that you are hers. It's impossible to fight it and she controls your heart and mind."

"Sounds terrifying," Elizabeth said clutching Will's hand. The two of them looked at each other and Will pulled Elizabeth closer to him and kissed her on the forehead.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered.

"I think maybe we should try and figure out some sort of plan as to how we're going to stop this Queenie and find the missing girls as soon as possible," Jack said.

Everyone nodded to each other and began to do just that.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it. Next time around they're going to put whatever plan they come up with in action. Thanks fore reading and let me know what you think. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Here's another chapter all. Thanks for the reviews. Enjoy.

* * *

While Elizabeth and Ana went to take a walk around the village, Jack and Will remained behind and decided to have a bit of practice with their sword fighting.

Will parried and Jack thrusted. The two of them were locked in an intense battle but also enjoying every moment of it. They had been on Elizabeth's ship for far too long and it was nice to finally stretch out their legs and practice for once.

Jack was coming towards Will and before the Captain could react, Will stuck out his foot effectively tripping Jack causing him to fall to the floor. He turned over only to have a sword in his face.

"You cheated?" Jack said in slight astonishment.

Will helped him get to his feet and shrugged his shoulders. "Pirate," he said with a barely suppressed grin.

That only caused the good Captain to smirk himself. "Care to go at it again?"

"No, not right now but maybe later when the girls come back."

"When the girls come back?" Jack said with a raised eyebrow. "And just why should we wait till then when we're perfectly capable of having a bit of fun by ourselves right now?"

"Alright, first of all," Will said, "I never want to hear you say we're 'capable of having a bit of fun by ourselves' ever, ever again. Don't take it personally but I'm a happily married man and you're, well, you."

Jack took in his words and quickly shook his head. He even waved his arms so as to further his point. "Nor I, you mate. Nor I to you. I just don't like being bored is all."

"Be that as it may; never, ever again."

"Oh shut it will you."

"Second of all," Will continued, "so we're really going to do it tomorrow then? And we're not going to tell them?"

"Well we don't want to make them extra worried now do we?"

"But what if something happens while we're gone..."

Jack put his hands on Will's shoulder and looked him right in the eye. "William, this is probably nothing more than some old wives' tale. There is _nothing in the forest_ but a bunch of trees and furry little woodland creatures more likely than not."

"I know Jack," Will said suppressing another sigh, "but I have a really bad feeling about all of this."

The two of them didn't say anything more for several minutes. They decided to go into the house and try to work on their idea a bit more.

Meanwhile, as they were doing that Ana was showing Elizabeth one of the more beautiful spots near to her house. It was a field covered in wildflowers.

"Oh, it's beautiful out here Ana," Elizabeth said picking one up and taking a gentle whiff.

"I used to come here all the time when I was but a girl. I would just lie on my back and look up at the clouds and wile the time away lost in my thoughts and dreams." Ana took a seat by her side and the two, at practically the same time, lay on their backs and looked up. Oddly enough, it wasn't exactly hot but it wasn't breezy either. It was the perfect day to do nothing at all.

"Ana?"

"Yes Elizabeth?"

"Why are you letting us stay in your house?"

Ana turned her head and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry if I'm prying but something tells me that you don't like being in the company of our dear pirate captain friend."

Ana Maria looked away and Elizabeth felt like she'd crossed a line that should not have been crossed. She began to stand up hoping to convince Ana to go back to her home with her.

"I shouldn't have said anything. Forgive me. Maybe we should get back to your place and..."

"He didn't replace my boat."

Elizabeth stopped short. "Excuse me?" she repeated.

"Sparrow; he never replaced my boat that he stole and sunk. He's always just thinking about himself. He never thinks about anyone else. He's nothing but a pigheaded, obnoxious, dirty..."

This went on for several minutes more with Ana using many colorful words to describe the man. When she lapsed into silence, Elizabeth took this as a cue to speak up.

"Is that all?"

"He's an arse too. Now I'm done."

Elizabeth couldn't contain herself as she began to laugh and laugh. After a few minutes of staring at her, Ana joined in as well. They just couldn't help it.

"Oh my goodness," Ana said wiping away a tear. "I haven't laughed this hard since the time Cotton's parrot left a little gift inside of Jack's beloved hat."

That caused Elizabeth to snort in a very unladylike manner. "We should probably be getting back now. It's getting late and the boys are probably either bored stiff or starving."

"How you ever got a man like that one I'll never understand. What's your secret?" Ana asked.

"I was just one of the lucky few who was able to look beyond what was expected of me and love someone for who they are and not how much money they can earn."

"You really love him then," Ana said getting to her feet before helping Elizabeth to stand as well.

"I do, I really and truly do."

"Well good for you then," she said a little sarcastically.

Elizabeth couldn't help but note the slightly sad tone to her voice. What was it that Ana was keeping from everyone, including herself?

**

* * *

**That night during the dinner that they had all prepared together, Elizabeth couldn't help but notice the slightly covert glances that Jack and Will were sharing. They were planning something, but what? Just what were they doing while they were out today anyway? 

The two of them were just moving the food around on their plates and Ana just couldn't take it anymore. "Alright, what's going on you two? Spill it."

Jack lazily took a sip of rum and looked her right in the eye and shook his head. "Nothing Love. Absolutely nothing."

Elizabeth looked to her husband and Will shook his head as well before piling some food into his mouth just so he wouldn't have to say anything.

"We'll let it go for now," she said looking at him through squinted eyes. "But mark my words William Turner; if you so much as do something with this, this pirate that's reckless and can get you killed. So help me..."

Will took Elizabeth's hand and held onto it tightly. "Everything is fine Elizabeth. We were just talking earlier about the little girls who have gone missing and hope that they can get home safely and soon."

Elizabeth closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder. Will closed his as well and caressed her cheek. After a few minutes, he realized that she had actually fallen asleep there.

He gently removed himself, picked her up and brought her over to the bed and laid her down. She curled up and wrapped her hands around her pillow. Will removed a strand of hair from her face before rejoining Jack and Ana at the table.

Will discreetly nodded to Jack and he in turn looked to Ana. "Ana, Love, can you keep a secret?"

"Depends on what the secret is," she said leaning her head on her hand.

"Tomorrow night, William and I are going to go into the forest to have a look around. We would go during the day but then the townspeople would see us and we don't really want that. Whatever you do, don't tell Elizabeth we're going."

Ana looked ready to protest but swallowed instead. "Just be really, really careful. Try not to get yourselves murdered."

She looked particularly at Jack when she said that.

"We won't. Thank you Ana," Will said.

She nodded, got up from her seat and went to do the dishes when Will stopped her. "We'll do it."

"You will?" Ana asked

At the same time Jack himself asked, "We will?"

"Yes, it's the least we could do after all. Since you're going to be keeping our secret, right."

She took a good, long look at both of them before nodding. "I'll leave you both to it then," she said rising from her seat.

She gave both of the a kiss on the cheek in thanks before getting comfortable on her chair by the window and wrapping a blanket around her to keep warm. As she drifted off into a slightly uncomfortable sleep, she just hoped that whatever plan those two might've come up with would not end disaster.

But somehow, in the back of her mind, she knew that if Jack Sparrow was involved then things were bound to go wrong anyway.

* * *

Next chapter is when the two finally go into the forest. Thanks for reading. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. 

Thanks for the reviews everyone. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Here's the latest chapter, so have at it. 

* * *

The rain was pattering against the windows. As no one was willing to go outside, it was decided that they'd stay in today. 

"Stupid, bloody rain," Jack muttered as he sat by the window, occasionally banging his head against it every few seconds. 

"If you don't stop that in the next five minutes," Ana said coming into the room with a tray of homemade biscuits from her mother, "I am going to bash your head in with this tray." 

Jack dramatically rolled his eyes before grabbing one for himself and stuffing it into his mouth. 

"You're such a pig," Ana said, not even bothering to lower her voice. 

Jack finished chewing and bowed down before her. "Thank you love." 

While this exchange was going on, Elizabeth and Will were sitting by the warm fireplace. He had his arms wrapped around her shoulders and was giving her little kisses on the neck. 

"You know that you don't have to do this," she whispered. 

"I know I don't have to," he whispered back in _that_ voice, "but I want to." 

He then shifted positions and began to rub her shoulders. Elizabeth tried to keep quiet but it was really rather difficult to do so. As she quietly moaned and Will continued to kiss her, Jack and Ana sat as far away from them as they could. 

"Well isn't that something, eh?" 

"Aye." 

After a few minutes, Jack went back to window banging and Ana continued to eat her biscuit. 

* * *

The sun had set hours ago and slowly Jack got up from the floor. He looked over at Will who was silently putting his boots on. He then put on his shirt and the two of them went outside. Thankfully the rain had stopped a little while ago but the ground was completely soaked.

"Thankfully the moon can guide us tonight," Jack muttered. 

They came to the entrance of the forest and stopped. 

"Well, go on then..." Jack said. 

"Why do I have to go first? Why can't you go?" 

"Me. I'm...scrawny. Yeah, that's right. You're much more bigger. Now go." 

"No." 

Jack began to push Will but Will pushed back. Before long, the two of them tripped over their legs and fell into a patch of mud on the other side of the forest line. The two slowly stood and tried to get as much mud off of them as they could. 

"Excellent. Now Elizabeth's going to know for sure," Will muttered. 

Jack could only roll his eyes in response as the two continued on their way. True to what he'd said, there were some little woodland creatures out tonight. An owl hooted in the distance. It was all very...disturbing. 

"So how long should we look for then?" Will asked. 

"Till it's almost day break would be prudent." 

"And if the worst should happen?" 

Jack looked at Will who shrugged back. "Keep to the code." 

They walked silently. The only noise coming from them was the sound of their boots in the mud. 

"Why did it have to rain today of all days," Jack said as he tried to get mud from the bottom of his shoe. They walked on for quite a bit in absolute silence. 

"Well this is..." Will said trailing off. 

"Exceedingly dull?" Jack suggested. 

Will raised a hand and pushed him almost causing Jack to fall over again. And he might've succeeded if not for the tree that was right behind him which he crashed into to. Whatever birds that were in the tree suddenly flew away into the night screeching and that caused Will to almost jump out of his boots. 

"Jack, maybe we should go or something," he said worried.

Jack nodded and they both turned to go back the way they came but somehow it seemed like their path was gone. 

"Didn't we just come from that way?" Jack asked while pointing. 

"_William_" a voice softly whispered through the wind. 

He immediately turned his head in the right direction and felt, somehow, drawn to it. 

"_William. William_" 

The voice relaxed his weary soul and he wanted to go to it. 

"William?" 

Will blinked and tried to remember where he was. Jack was standing some five feet away from him and looking rather confused at the moment. "Wh-what just happened?" 

"Well," Jack said sauntering over, "you sort of had this dazed look in your eye. Sort of like the same look I get after quite a number of drinks. Anyway, I was calling out to you but it seemed like you weren't giving me the time of day. What was it?" 

Will took note of Jack's genuinely worried look and tried to remember the feeling he'd just had. When he opened his mouth however, a sudden noise caught his attention. 

"Did you hear that?" 

"Aye. Not good." 

The two of them took out their swords and tried to get a good look around the area. Jack was the first one who saw her. She was standing a good ten feet away. Her hair was up in pigtails and she seemed to be holding a small doll in her arms. 

"Jack..." Will said in a worried tone. 

The girl pointed to them and suddenly a bright white light seemed to come from behind her. The only things going through both of their heads were "White light! White light!" and "Bugger." 

They felt themselves getting rather sleepy and slowly they collapsed onto the hard ground. 

* * *

The sun had just peaked over the horizon as Ana slowly found herself waking up. Through blurry eyes she took a look around the room only to find a tossed blanket on the floor and Elizabeth sleeping without her husband by her side.

They hadn't come back yet? They'd promised they'd be back by morning. 

Getting up quietly, Ana went outside and very carefully walked toward the forest. As she came closer to its entrance, she noticed two bodies lying on the ground. She ran over to them and found Jack and Will, with their heads against the trees, fast asleep. 

She kicked Jack's leg, causing him to jump up with a start and Ana to have to opportunity to slap him in the face. "What the bloody hell took you so long?" she asked through clenched teeth. 

Jack glared at her for one second and shook Will effectively waking him up as well. 

"Not now Elizabeth, I'm too tired," he muttered. 

"William?" Jack said warningly. 

The younger man's eyes opened and he saw an angry woman who pulled him to his feet and slapped him as well. 

"Was that really necessary?" Jack asked. 

"Into the house, now. The both of you." 

She had the two of them walk in front of her and when they opened the door, all were gratefully that Elizabeth was still fast asleep. 

"So?" Ana asked putting her hands on her hips and whispering loudly, "how did it go? Did you see anything?" 

"Not really I'm afraid," Jack said sadly. He told her generally what had happened, making sure to leave out the oddness of Will's situation. 

"And after we saw that white light, we just sort of blacked out unfortunately." 

"But you did see a young girl though," Ana said. 

"Definitely." 

"Well that's good. They're still out there somewhere then." 

"We think it might be best if we go back. Not tonight though but perhaps tomorrow," Will said. 

Ana just sent them a look as they heard a yawn coming from the bed. Elizabeth sat up and stretched before looking around to see everyone sitting in the kitchen. Taking note of the fact that her husband and Jack were fully dressed and covered in mud, she couldn't help but be suspicious. "Where did you...?" 

"We went for an early morning walk darling. Both of us couldn't sleep well so we went out," Jack said. 

Will nodded but his eyes told a different story. 

"Oh, alright then." Elizabeth kept her tone casual, but somehow she didn't believe them. They went somewhere alright, but where exactly?

* * *

Thank you all for reading. Let me know what you thought about it. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Nothing in this story is mine.

Sorry about such a long wait between chapters. Thank you to those who have read and also reviewed the story. Had some school stuff and other story things to work on. Enjoy this latest chapter though.

* * *

True to their words, Jack and Will spent the next day in the village. There they helped with any damage that the storm might have caused. Patching up the roof was easy enough, especially when Jack stayed on the ground and forced Will to do it.

"I'm going to kill you one of these days Sparrow. Mark my words," Will said loud enough for everyone to hear him.

"Consider them marked and you'll be even with your beloved wife," Jack shouted back.

When they finished, they went back to Ana's home and found it to be empty.

"Girls?" Jack called out.

Will saw that there was a note on the dinner table and he picked it up. "They went to the market."

"How do you know?" Jack asked raising an eyebrow.

Will pointed to the piece of paper and slowly Jack nodded his head.

"So what now?" he asked taking a seat and putting his feet up on the table. He looked over at Will and saw him to be unusually morose and sad. "Something wrong whelp?" Jack asked.

"It's nothing really Jack. Just a strange dream I had last night."

"Want to talk about it?"

Will sighed. "Maybe later Jack." Suddenly he felt as though he was suffocating. He ran out of the room and went outside. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, he felt a little relaxed.

_William. William._

Will closed his eyes and covered his ears. "Leave me alone," he whispered while falling to his knees.

"Will?" Elizabeth said coming to his aid. She and Ana had just returned with some food for dinner only to find Will kneeling in the dirt and his face made him look as though he were in pain.

Slowly he looked into her eyes and felt better right away. "Elizabeth-I..."

She took note of his slightly paler than usual face and the dark circles under his eyes. She looked back and Ana as she helped her husband to stand. "We should head back to your home."

"Aye," Ana said walking ahead of them.

Elizabeth helped Will back to the house but stopped before they had reached the door. "What's wrong Will?"

Should Will tell her? Say that he was having dreams of a woman, more beautiful than humanly possible, that was kissing him and telling him that she was his and would obey her every command should she wish it? Is that something one would admit to their wife?

"Nothing. Everything is just fine Elizabeth; trust me."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked inside leaving her standing there all alone.

**

* * *

**That night, as soon as they were sure that everyone was asleep, Will and Jack disappeared into the night once again. Earlier in the day, another small girl named Catherine had gone missing. All that remained was a piece of torn cloth from the skirt she had worn.

"We have to stop this soon Jack; before this Forest Queen does something drastic."

It seemed to everyone in the household that Will had been fighting not to sleep all afternoon, now however he was wide awake. His eyes were more alert and he took in his surroundings in stride. He almost seemed possessed in a way.

"William, are you alright?"

"Of course Jack; why should it seem like something is wrong?" Will answered.

The forest seemed just as deserted as it was the last time. Not even the animals were making noise tonight. The only thing they heard was the sounds of their own breathing and the crinkle of leaves under their boots.

Jack was beginning to tire so he begged Will to stop for a few minutes. While he drank a bit from his water-skin, Will continued to look around the area making sure they weren't being followed or watched. So far so good. Actually, he'd never had such good vision at this time of night before. The moon was hardly guiding them more than Will himself knew where to go.

"William, why don't you sit down? Take a load off," Jack called to him.

Will turned, but seemed to stare at something just beyond Jack's shoulder.

It was a young girl. She was just standing there, her arms wrapped around a cloth of some kind as she stared ahead and pointed at them.

"Jack, do you see that?" Will asked while stepping forward to get a closer look. He got no response however. "Jack!"

Will looked, and Jack was fast asleep while still sitting under the tree. He tried to shake the man awake but it was no use. The rustle of leaves caused Will to look up again and the girl was now right on top of them. She reached out a hand and waited. Will looked into her eyes and found no sparkle of life within them.

"Come away with me," she whispered so quietly that Will almost had to strain her ears to hear it.

"But my friend..."

"Come away with me," she repeated in the same, sweet tone.

"Will you lead me to a place where I will find help for him? This doesn't seem natural."

The girl said nothing but nodded her head slightly. Carefully, Will stood and took her hand. She led him away from Jack and deeper into the darkest part of the forest.

**

* * *

**Morning dawned and Elizabeth woke up first. She reached to her husband who should have been sleeping next to her only to find empty space.

"Will?"

Elizabeth sat up in bed and pulled the sheet back to reveal nothing. "Jack, Ana; Will's not here."

She looked in the room and found that Jack was missing now as well. Ana was still fast asleep so Elizabeth jumped out of the bed to wake her.

"Ana wake up; Jack and Will are missing."

Ana sighed and opened her eyes. "What's all this...?"

"They're not here and I have a strange feeling you know where they are. Where are they Ana and don't lie to me."

"I-they-."

The door flew open and in walked Jack Sparrow rubbing the back of his head. His eyes seemed to be only half open as though he'd only just woken up. Elizabeth flew up to him at once.

"Jack, where's my husband?" she asked crossing her arms against her chest.

There was no escaping her this time. "Well love, ye see it goes like this..."

* * *

Next chapter is all Will. Thanks very much for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Here is the next chapter. Thank you for reviewing the last one. I promised a Will-centered chapter so here it is. Enjoy.

* * *

The further they went into the forest, the more Will felt his heart sink to his stomach. What in the world could have made him choose to go with this girl? Sure Jack had been unconscious at the time; but now the sun was rising.

At least, he thought it was. The forest was so dense and dark that one could hardly see apparently, even during the day.

Suddenly, his young guide stopped walking and Will squinted a little to see ahead of him. It was a large building of some sort that was built right on the inside of an enormous tree.

"Do I have to go in there?" Will turned to ask the girl. When he turned to face her however, she was gone. "Little girl?" he asked, turning in a circle.

_William_.

There it was; that voice again. It was coming from inside of the tree. Once again, he was drawn to it for some unknown reason. He walked forwards and, as it was so dark, didn't notice the hole in the ground that he fell through.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing the back of head.

The cavern was completely dark for a few seconds before a line of torches suddenly came to life. It showed him a path.

_William_, a voice sweetly whispered.

It now came from the darkness ahead. He walked forward and followed whomever it was that spoke.

Suddenly, a man jumped out from the wall and stood before him. He looked a bit like some sort of primitive huntsman. He wore a skirt made from a leather of some kind, a headdress made of feathers, strange markings on his face and a large spear in his hand. Will quickly drew his sword.

"Easy fella," Will said.

The two men circled each other before the huntsman moved first. He brought his spear into both hands, raised it above his head and let out some sort of war cry. He stabbed forward and Will quickly maneuvered to avoid getting speared. The huntsman again tried to get Will again, the time through the stomach and again Will stayed safe. Will wanted to do this peacefully, but he wasn't even sure that this person would understand him.

"Please, you must stop," Will pleaded with him.

Yet the man continued to attack so Will felt as though he had no other choice. When the huntsman came at him again, Will managed to get his sword underneath the spear and stabbed him right in the chest. The huntsman fell to the ground and turned into a pile of dirt. Will tentatively tapped the pile with his sword before shaking his head and continuing.

The area was just as dark as ever with only the torchlight upon the walls to guide his way. Suddenly, Will could've sworn he heard something coming from behind him. He turned around to find nothing but an empty space. Will shrugged and continued on his way until he heard it again. What was that? It sounded like someone was there; but no one seemed to be visible.

"If someone is there," Will called out while turning in a circle, "then show yourself."

He listened very carefully to the silence. Will closed his eyes and without warning, turned and threw his sword. He opened his eyes to find another huntsman on the other end of it. Will felt a pain enter his heart and he clutched it, falling to one knee.

_William. You are almost here._

Sighing, he continued on his way. He went barely five paces when the hallway abruptly ended.

In the very center of the room stood someone. They had a long, black veil over their face and black robes as well.

_William_, the room seemed to whisper.

He walked forward and a very large man, one of the largest he had possibly ever seen, stood in front of him. He was dressed in the same way as those who came before him so this was likely another test of some sort.

Will took up his sword but the man grabbed it right away and snapped it in two. Will gulped and backed away. "Can't we just not fight?" he asked looking behind him only to find that the wall was slowly getting much closer.

The man grunted and reached for Will's neck. Thinking he really didn't have much of another choice, Will did the only thing he could think of. He head butted the man causing him to fall.

A small earthquake could easily describe how much the floor was shaking. Will needed a weapon though and fast. Something was shining and it was one of his sword shards.

While the man struggled to get up, Will quickly grabbed it and stabbed the man right in the head. The man disappeared in another haze of dirt. He looked up then to see the veiled person walking over to him.

They passed through a shaft of light from a torch and Will discovered that this person was in fact a woman. She seemed hunched over slightly and when she was right on top of him, he noticed a strange goblet in her gnarled, elderly hand. It was gold and had numerous jewels encrusted all around it.

"I must thank you for your valor," she said with a croak. "Please, come with me and I will give you a drink."

"I thank you kindly, milady," Will said shaking his head, "but I really must return to my friend. He has fallen asleep in the wood and I'm not sure he's safe where he is."

"Oh but," the woman said, brining a hand to Will's face and lightly touching his cheek, "surely you are thirsty after such an ordeal as this. Allow me to give you this in return. There is a spring just over in this direction."

She took Will's hand with her free one and led him further along. "Really good lady, I must be going..."

"Nonsense," she said tightening her grip making Will unable to escape.

When they finally arrived at this "spring", around it sat seven girls ranging in age from 6-14. Their clothing was all the same; green dresses with little embroidered leaves upon them. On their heads they wore crowns of flowers and their eyes seemed haunted and doll-like in that they had no emotion.

"You have been brought here at my beckoning," the elderly woman stated. She walked forward and filled the goblet with water. "You have made it past my guard which proves you are worthy. You have the swiftness of a hawk, the senses of a wolf on the hunt and the strength of the mightiest bear."

She walked back to him and forced Will to look into her eyes. Will felt a sudden paralysis enter his body; he was unable to move, unable to look away. He felt his heart beating rapidly against his ribcage as the woman placed the goblet into his suddenly outstretched hand.

"Drink of the water," she said quietly.

Unable to stop himself, Will raised the cup to his lips and drank. When it was all gone, he dropped the cup to the floor and it shattered on impact.

Will felt something odd, as his eyelids began to droop. The woman grabbed him and held him upright as she whispered words in a strange language to him. A wind began to blow around him and Will could not escape it. The woman and the girls backed away until the twister vanished. There stood a different Will Turner, though he mostly looked the same.

He wore a green shirt embroidered with a crest in the center bearing the images of a wolf, bear and hawk and brown breeches with his black boots still covering his feet. His eyes were golden like that of a wolf and upon his back was a bow with a quiver of arrows and a new sword at his side. His hair now hung loosely, no longer needing to be tied back.

As the woman moved forward to him, Will went down on one knee and bowed before her saying nothing. She stooped down and helped him to stand. She took his hand into hers and placed it upon his chest.

"You are _mine_ now. A part of _my_ forest," she whispered in a sensual voice.

He looked to her and touched her face beneath the veil lightly. "I love you, my Quintessa," he said.

"I know. I have a duty for you my darling."

"Anything," he said.

* * *

Whoa. Poor Will, stuck under the Queen's command. Next chapter is back to the others, but what exactly does the Queen want Will to do? Thanks for reading.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Nothing is owned by me.

Thank you for the reviewers. Here's the latest chapter.

* * *

A day went by and Elizabeth still refused to leave the bed. Will was missing and Jack had no idea where he'd gone. He told her all about the two nightly expeditions that they had gone on and Ana reluctantly stated that she knew they'd done it as well.

Why were they keeping her so far out of the loop? Wasn't she a part of the team too?

Sighing, she turned over. Ana and Jack were both fast asleep. Elizabeth got up and went over to the window. The moon seemed to hang low in the sky. There wasn't a cloud to be found though.

"Will, where are you?" she whispered.

**

* * *

**From his spot on the floor, Jack Sparrow turned and looked at her. Elizabeth was withdrawing herself. She hadn't said anything all day and that worried him. He even tried to set her off to get her angry and still nothing.

Why couldn't he remember anything? What had happened in that odd forest?

None of this was making any sort of sense at all. Well, one thing to be sure and that was the fact that when the three of them got together nothing was ever dull.

He noticed that as she was staring outside, she wiped a tear from her eye. This was completely breaking _his_ heart.

After that dark moment when they all thought he was going to have to leave on the Dutchman for ten years, Will and Elizabeth thought it was the end. They shared their time on the beach and then he had to go away for almost a day before Calypso allowed him to return. And in that long day, Elizabeth refused to eat anything and leave the bed she was so depressed. The moment he returned, she started to live again. Then they left the Pearl in favor of Elizabeth's ship The Empress and the rest is well, history. Jack lost his ship and boarded with them shortly afterwards.

"Please come home."

Jack watched Elizabeth walk back to the bed, lie down and curl up into a ball. She didn't make any more noise and slowly Jack drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

**

* * *

**More days passed and still no word on him came. Ana sent Jack out to the market's bakery to buy a loaf of bread while she tried to persuade Elizabeth to at the very least eat something. She would only eat the tiniest bit of food and it wasn't healthy for her.

"You have to Elizabeth; please," Ana said holding an apple in front of Elizabeth's face.

Elizabeth just shook her head and Ana wanted nothing more than to stick the apple into her mouth herself. Unfortunately Elizabeth chose that moment to turn a bit green in the face for absolutely no 

reason at all. She ran out of the house and lost whatever was in her stomach at the time. Ana came and placed a comforting hand upon the woman's shoulder and rubbed her back as Elizabeth lost it again.

Suddenly she sat back up and had a calculating look on her face. "Ana, what day is it?"

"June 23."

Elizabeth counted something on her fingers and suddenly she burst into tears as Jack was walking back to the house.

"What's wrong wit 'er?" he asked.

"I'm pregnant," she blurted out before Ana could even shrug her shoulders. Even she wasn't expecting that. "You're what!"

Elizabeth began to mutter under her breath something about an island and crossed swords before she feinted in Ana's arms. Too tired to go on.

Jack and Ana looked to each other before Jack picked Elizabeth up and brought her to the bed to lie down. They stayed by her side and waited until she would wake up again. Elizabeth slept most of the day and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that she really needed it.

"So she's having a little one but her 'usband is nowhere to be found," Jack said putting the situation into perspective.

"What if he don't come back," Ana said looking at him.

Jack shook his head. "William wouldn't do that, Darling. Something is keeping him away. I'm sure of it."

"But what; where is he?"

"Will," Elizabeth muttered in her sleep.

A gust of wind blew the window open. Jack ran over to shut it but when he looked outside he could've sworn he saw a hooded man at the very edge of the forest.

"Ana, do you see what I see?"

Ana walked over to him just in time to see the person pull something off of their back and aim right at them.

"Duck," Jack said pushing Ana to the ground as an arrow flew overhead and embed itself into the wall. The two looked at each other for a few minutes before Jack slowly climbed off of her.

Jack ran over to retrieve whatever it was and Ana felt sorry that he had left so soon. She looked out the window once again but the person was gone.

"Ana?"

She turned to see Jack with a rolled up piece of paper that had been attached to the arrow.

"What is it?" she asked.

Jack opened it and his eyes hardened. "It's a message."

Ana took it and read through the short letter aloud. "Bring the girls into my forest by sundown on the 25th or I shall send my disciple to collect them. The Queen."

The two of them looked at each other and then at Elizabeth still sleeping in the bed.

"Not good," Ana muttered with a sigh.

**

* * *

**He ran back through the forest with all haste. His hood fell away and he quickened his pace.

_William_, the wind called to him causing him to stop momentarily.

He had arrived back at the Queen's lair. A few of the young girls met him at the entrance and he smiled at them before kneeling in front of the Queen.

"Did you deliver my message?" she asked.

"Yes milady?" Will muttered.

"Excellent. Then it is only a matter of time now."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Have a nice weekend.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Nothing here is mine.

Sorry about not updating in awhile. Stupid Writer's Block. Here's the latest chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

The message from the supposed Queen sent shockwaves throughout the household.

"What're we going to do?" Ana asked. The three of them were wide awake late the next night. They were sitting at the kitchen table, a lit candle at the center.

"Well we can't exactly walk into a trap. We also can't ignore this," Elizabeth said. She turned to Jack and he looked back at her with an odd look in his eyes. "Do you have any ideas," she asked him.

He cocked his head to the side and a wide smirk appeared.

"Uh oh," Ana whispered for what felt like the hundredth time in her life.

**

* * *

**The Queen walked into the room to find William sitting on the ground. His legs were crossed together and his eyes were closed while he meditated. A few of the more curious girls sat around or near him to watch. However, he opened his eyes and turned to find the Queen now with her hand upon his shoulder.

"Is there something you would like milady?" he asked while looking up at her.

"Yes; I would like for you to take watch over the Forest tonight. I feel as though we may be having visitors and they may mean me more harm than good."

"As you wish," he whispered. Will stood, bowed before her and left the sanctuary in order to prepare for his evening outdoors.

**

* * *

**The sun went down on the next day, yet storm clouds gathered overhead. They hid the moon which the group had been using to guide their path. Luckily Ana had thought enough in advance to bring a candle in her satchel. She stopped for a moment to light it while Jack and Elizabeth hovered in the background.

"So this was your big idea," Elizabeth whispered shrilly into his ear; "just walk into the forest? That has to be the most idiotic, stupid..."

Jack covered her mouth with his hand and clearly gave her a look that said 'I know what I'm doing.' After the candle was all lit up, Ana nodded and they continued. Ana was still rather nervous about all of this. She and Elizabeth both felt that the community should be involved in this, rather than just the three of them. For all they knew more children were going to disappear in larger numbers should they go missing themselves.

Elizabeth felt a chill go down her spine as her eyes scanned what lay before them. It was only trees though. Lots and lots of dark, giant trees. Elizabeth found herself attached to Jack's hand and they both looked at each other before letting go. Suddenly, they heard a howl off in the distance.

"What was that?" Elizabeth asked clutching at Jack's arm. Had Will been there, she wouldn't grabbed him but as Jack was the only present male.

"I'm sure it was nothing love," Jack said caringly, while removing her arms from him again.

"Probably just a night dweller of the woods," Ana muttered. She brought the candle around to better search their immediate space and continued forward.

All of a sudden, and much closer to them, they heard a twig snap. Their heads all turned in the same direction and out of the brush came a pointed arrow.

"Don't shoot," Jack said, running to hide behind Elizabeth.

She just rolled her eyes and held up her hands. The arrow shifted and an arm appeared followed by the rest of the person. It was a man. He was dressed completely in green with a long hood covering his face. Save for his eyes which glowed with a strange golden light much like a wolf's.

His eyes passed over all of them and stopped at Elizabeth's.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Ana asked.

"I am the Queen's Guardian. You three are coming with me. She wishes to see you," he said in a low voice.

Both Ana and Elizabeth looked to Jack. He had gotten them into this mess after all. He slowly nodded and pushed them to go first.

**

* * *

**_Why did her face look so familiar to him? As they walked, he took another glance at the blonde haired girl before continuing forward. Who is she to him?_

**

* * *

**"Is it just me," Elizabeth whispered to Ana, "or does he keep looking at me?"

Ana chanced a glance and shrugged. The group stopped at what appeared to be a hollowed out tree.

"What now?" Jack asked.

The man reached out and pushed a concealed doorway open. There were steps that they needed to go down. Each step they went, the temperature seemed to decrease a little more. Jack was directly behind the hooded man so he was the first to see the rather interesting scene before him. A group of girls ran towards them and they surround the mysterious stranger who seemed to laugh silently at their arrival.

"Did you bring us back anything?" one girl asked.

He reached into his cloak and removed a flower which he handed to her. Another little girl came up to Ana and Elizabeth.

Ana looked down and cocked her head slightly to the side. "Brittany?"

A confused look came upon the girl's face before footsteps alerted someone else's' arrival. The hooded stranger fell to one knee while the little girls all scattered while giggling.

Jack, Ana and Elizabeth all looked at each other as a woman appeared from off to the side. She walked regally up to the group and stared at them through her dark, heavy lidded eyes.

"Milady," the bowed stranger whispered.

She stopped in front of the girls before turning to the man and motioning for him to come to her. The Queen looked right at Ana and smiled which caused her wrinkled, masklike face to appear more hideous.

"You are of the village," she said touching Ana's cheek.

She flinched away from her before the woman looked to Elizabeth.

"And you are his," the Queen said now glaring at her.

"I'm sorry?" she said confused.

"Now, let's all just calm down a moment," Jack said, trying to take some sort of control of the situation.

"Seize him," the Queen said, not even bothering to turn her head.

The hooded man grabbed him; but the hood fell away. Elizabeth stared at him with wide eyes, wishing she could run to his side. "Will?"

* * *

Thanks for reading.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Thank you for reviewing. Here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Elizabeth tried to break through and reach her husband but something was holding her back. She looked down to see two of the small girls had attached themselves to her legs which stopped her from moving forward. "Let go," she muttered trying to get away.

The Queen meanwhile laid her hand upon Ana's cheek once again. "Such beauty. I must have you and then everything will be perfect."

Jack tried to fight off Will but Will was just too strong for him.

"Whelp, let me go."

If anything, saying 'whelp' just made Will hold on even tighter.

"ANA!" Jack shouted.

The Queen went away and Ana followed her against her will. It was as though her feet were moving on their own. The Queen stopped at a large book and then held out her hand. Ana stopped moving and stood in place as the Queen skimmed the pages.

Elizabeth managed to finally break away and she ran to her husband and tried to pull him off Jack. "Will, let him go. Now."

With her constant pulling, he slowly came away and Jack escaped if only for a moment. He ran to where Ana stood but an invisible barrier blocked his path. Ana managed to turn her head but was unable to say anything.

Will meanwhile removed his sword from his scabbard to go after him and Elizabeth quickly removed hers.

"Hey," she shouted in order to gain his attention.

Will turned and upon noticing her weapon turned to face her. "You dare challenge me?" he asked.

"Yes," she said back.

Will got into an attacking stance and went after her. Elizabeth managed to dodge it and the two fought going back and forth giving Jack ample time to try and save Ana.

"Ah, here it is," the Queen said pointing down to a paragraph in her book.

"Ana," Jack shouted once again.

The Queen gave Ana an evil glare and began to chant, "Tribuo mihi suus decor quod vita. Tribuo is totus volo." 1

Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched as AnaMaria floated a few inches from the ground and a beam of bright blue light shot out from her chest and went straight for the Queen. They were all blinded for a few seconds and when everything returned to normal Ana was lying on the ground unconscious and the Queen had changed completely.

Where she had been old and decrepit a moment before now there stood a woman, long blonde locks covered her head and her eyes were an odd violet color. She reached for a mirror and looked into it while gasping.

"Perfect," she whispered.

Meanwhile the wall which blocked Jack earlier had now vanished allowing him to run to her side. She looked very pale and was breathing in quiet gasps.

Will and Elizabeth, who were on the other side of the room, continued their fighting.

"Will it's me. It's Elizabeth, your wife."

Will thrust his sword forward and Elizabeth was almost without a head.

"Will stop!" Elizabeth fell to the ground and Will stood over her but suddenly looked away.

Elizabeth followed his gaze and the Queen was beckoning him forward. He started to walk away but Elizabeth grabbed his arm. "Will, I need you. Don't listen to her. Fight it."

"William, my prince. Come to me," the Queen called.

"No Will, don't. I love you."

"William."

"No Will."

"I need you more."

"I'm pregnant!" Elizabeth held onto Will's arm tightly and he looked into her face as though searching for something. "Not even the threat of the Dutchman could keep us apart. Fight her call," Elizabeth whispered.

Will's eyes seemed to flicker between gold and brown.

"Fight," Elizabeth mouthed.

The Queen was becoming agitated. "Come to me my William," she said gliding forward.

Will traced Elizabeth's lips with his finger and placed a hand to her cheek. "Elizabeth."

His eyes were now back to their normal shade and Elizabeth smiled.

"Watch out!" Jack shouted.

Will quickly turned to see the Queen with her hand outstretched with tiny little sparks coming from it.

"Get away from him!" she growled at Elizabeth.

Will stood in front of Elizabeth at the last moment before bolts of lightning little shot from her hands and struck him, sending him flying across the room where the little girls were hiding. All of them were scared and clutching each other.

Elizabeth wanted to run after him but the Queen had her backed against the wall. She placed her hand on Elizabeth's neck and her back was against the stone. Slowly her face was turning blue and the Queen smirked.

Suddenly, there was something sticking out of her chest. She looked down to see an arrow point with blood on its tip. She let go of Elizabeth and the girl fell to the floor clutching her neck while taking deep gasps of breath. Will stepped out of the shadows with the bow holding another arrow at the ready.

"Leave my wife alone," he said taking aim.

The Queen shook her head and patronizingly shook her head. "William, William," she said walking over and placing her hand to his cheek and clutching at him causing her nails to bite into him. "Don't you love me anymore?"

Will managed to break away and upon feeling blood on his cheek, wiped it quickly before aiming once again.

"William..."

Will fired another arrow straight into her heart. Still she continued to walk and Will fired again. Still she continued to live. The Queen raised her hand and began to speak when suddenly her head separated from the rest of her body.

Jack had apparently grabbed Will's fallen sword and sliced the Queen's head off. Her body and head suddenly burst into flames and vanished into thin air. Everyone stood in silence for a few minutes.

Elizabeth had managed to crawl to Ana's side and the woman moaned quietly. "Jack, she's waking up," Elizabeth said.

Jack and Will quickly ran over as Ana slowly sat up. Jack pushed Elizabeth out of the way and helped Ana get on her feet.

"How do you feel?" Will asked.

"A little tired but otherwise I think I'm fine."

"Miss. Ana?"

The four adults turned to see all the young girls staring at them, some a little more frightened than the others.

"Where are my Mommy and Daddy?"

"I'm cold."

"Can we go home now?"

Everyone was talking at once. Will shushed them and they quieted down. Apparently they would still listen to him no matter what. "Let's all get out of here. Everyone get into a line and let's go."

The girls quickly lined up and Elizabeth looked at her husband with nothing less than shock.

"I believe our child will be in good hands," she said before giving him a kiss on the nose.

Jack meanwhile wrapped an arm around Ana's waist while they walked outside.

"Maybe we should stick around for awhile," he whispered into her ear.

"I'd like that," she said with a smile.

Everyone left the cave save for Will who took one last look around. He gave it one more look over and left to be with his beloved wife and the others.

* * *

1. Translation: Give me her beauty and life. Give it all to me.

The next chapter is going to be the last. Thanks for reading.


	11. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Thank you all so much for reading this fic and reviewing. I really appreciate it. Enjoy the epilogue.

* * *

The four of them sat in front of the fireplace holding a glass of wine each. Elizabeth wasn't actually drinking much out of hers; she was just doing this for the occasion.

"To good friends," Will said raising his glass.

"To friends," everyone repeated.

Elizabeth gave Will a kiss on the cheek before raising her own. "To Will; for being able to fight the Queen's call."

"To Will."

"To the whelp."

Ana gave Jack a smack on the shoulder before laying her head upon it. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes. Elizabeth took a small sip of her wine and looked to be lost in thought.

"Will?" she asked.

He turned to her. "Yes Elizabeth?"

"What was it like...you know, under the Queen's control?"

Jack and Ana looked at each other before sitting up a little straighter. Will seemed to think it over. He closed his eyes and seemed unsure of what to say.

"It was like, hmm, like being asleep. Much of it I don't remember, other times it was as though I was hypnotized. There were two voices in my head, my own and hers commanding me. It was just too hard to resist. She was just too powerful." Will then turned to look at his wife and smiled.

"And then I heard you calling out to me. It was as though a veil had been lifted. I could finally see the light. And it was all thanks to you my Love."

Will pulled Elizabeth's head down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He placed his other hand on top of Elizabeth's stomach and didn't take it off.

"To Elizabeth,' Jack said winking and raising his glass.

"To Elizabeth," Ana and Will repeated.

Ana then turned and raised the glass again. "To Jack for cuttin' off the Queen's head," she said.

"Off with her head," Will and Elizabeth both said while laughing at the same time.

Everyone reached out and clinked their glasses together. The young girls had been returned to their proper homes, Will and Elizabeth were starting a family and Jack and Ana were about to start their friendship anew. The forest was now safer than it had ever been thanks to four pirates who found themselves in a usual situation.


End file.
